Carl Milles
Covered by droit de suite
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"Femme aus nuphars" (femme aux nénuphars = woman on a water lily)
Signed Milles. Foundry mark Eug. Blot, Paris. The motif conceived 1899-1900. Metal alloy, height 25.5 cm, diameter 43 cm.
Literature
Conrad Köper, "Carl Milles", 1913. A plasterversion of the motif ill at p. 3 (photo from his studio in Paris about 1900). Listed under "Paris 1897-1900, smaler pieces", p. 178 as "Femme aux nuphars"..."The modell owned by Blot, Paris".
Henrik Cornell, "Carl Milles, hans verk", 1963, listed under 1899-1900 as "Femme aux nuphars", (Described together with to other sculptures as "Unknown models for execution in bronze or tin, owned by artdealers in Paris"), p. 247.
Erik Näslund, "Carl Milles - en biografi", 1991, the motif listed at p. 332 as "Femme aus nuphars" and dated 1899-1900.
More information
This newly discovered sculpture belong to one of Milles very rare early works and is almost certainly a unique piece.
Carl Milles made in the beginning of his career in Paris several smaller figure studies, some in bronze, some in other metal alloys and some as plasters. A photograph of one of his studios in Paris shows several of the sculptures he worked on at the turn of the century and the present composition can be seen as a plaster model. Milles was at the time influenced by the French sculptor and friend Auguste Rodin and also highly influenced by the French style art noveau.
Artist
Carl Milles was a Swedish sculptor born in Lägga. He studied at the Technical School in Stockholm, at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Auguste Rodin and on study trips to Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. In Paris he came to stay for many years and made a living as an ornament carver. He studied the animals in the Jardin des Plantes (the Zoological Garden) and was strongly influenced by Auguste Rodin. Milles made a breakthrough with a monument to Sten Sture in Uppsala. He exhibited at the World's Fair in 1900 and was later given a solo exhibition at the Tate Gallery in London. Milles was professor of modeling at the Royal Academy of Arts in Stockholm. Well-known sculptures in public places signed by Carl Milles are the "Gustav Vasa" statue at the Nordic Museum, "Orfeusgruppen" outside the concert hall in Stockholm and the "Poseidonfontänen" in Gothenburg.
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